New Plymouth welcomes the Navy’s largest ever ship

New Plymouth District Council is welcoming the Navy’s decision to name New Plymouth as the home port of its replacement fleet tanker, HMNZS Aotearoa.

The $493million HMNZS Aotearoa will be the biggest and most high-tech ship the Royal New Zealand Navy have ever operated when it replaces HMNZS Endeavour in 2020.

Mayor Neil Holdom says its fantastic news for the region and the ship having a Taranaki base is good for the local economy.
“We’re delighted to continue our long-standing partnership with the Navy; a natural fit with Taranaki being New Zealand’s energy centre and a good opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to Kiwi service men and women who do us proud both domestically and internationally. But more importantly, we’ve had a long and proud relationship with HMNZS Endeavour and I’m pleased that this will continue with HMNZS Aotearoa - even though we had to get the tape measure out to see if it would fit!”

HMNZS Aotearoa will offer more than just a fleet fuelling service. It will support combat operations and training missions, and deliver humanitarian aid and disaster relief when called upon. It will also provide an important Antarctic support capability to assist with Southern Ocean monitoring.

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